Having been excluded and bullied by most of her classmates in her youth, being in a beauty pageant was the last thing Dominique Rivera expected.
“I was shy as a kid and didn’t have many friends in school, but, after I got into theater, a field director said I should enter natural pageants where the focus was on natural beauty and things like character, community work, confidence and communications,” says the Delray Beach resident. “Within two years, I proudly won Miss New York Preteen, competing against 176 girls in categories such as academics, public speaking, interview, community service and evening gown. Later, in 2014, I won and was crowned with the title of Miss Miami’s Outstanding Teen for the Miss America organization.”
In January, after submitting paperwork and undergoing a preliminary interview for the state of Florida, Rivera was appointed Miss Lantana USA. Next April, the 20-year-old will compete for Miss Florida USA in Coral Springs.
“I’ve been competing in pageants for about 10 years,” Rivera says. “This is what I’ve been waiting and preparing for all these years.”
Her platform is spreading awareness of invisible disabilities – something she understands well, having been diagnosed with high-functioning Asperger’s Syndrome in 2014.
The daughter of Dawn and the late Ricardo Rivera, she was born in Long Island and lived there until 2013, when she and her mother moved to Delray Beach. Tragically, Rivera’s father died in a motorcycle accident when she was 2. After graduating from Boca Raton Community High School in 2018, she took a gap year prior to attending Florida Atlantic University to figure out which career direction she wanted to pursue. Additionally, she wanted to focus on advocating for individuals with neurodiversities.
Philanthropy is a big passion for Rivera. She serves as a lead ambassador and is a member of the junior board at the Unicorn Children’s Foundation, a Boca Raton nonprofit that serves children and young adults with developmental disorders. Rivera was awarded with the 2017 Youth in Service Award of the Year from Unicorn and was one of the nominees selected by the Community Inclusion Committee for the 2018 and 2019 Self-Advocate of the Year award.
Acutely aware of the emotional pain others with invisible disabilities experience, Rivera has this advice for them: “Be brave, and don’t be afraid of what others think. Be yourself.”